December 30, 2012

Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom.

After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.

Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.

When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."

And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

December 28, 2012

To aim for a good and prospering
life in our quite endless existence nowadays takes a ton of commensurable and
lasting mean. With the emergence of various possible boulevards of growth, we
oftentimes take the most obvious for granted.

It is without a doubt that
globalization is the core and aim of humanity currently and that we should
strive within ourselves to increase our awareness to this pressing phenomenon.
Globalization occurs as swift as the wind and so we must realize the importance
of the key factors underlining these modern changes.

For us and those with
the academe, one vital key here is communication. The importance of
communication in globalization is a necessity. It acts basically as a tool in
the progression of a specific act. I cannot imagine modernization without the
humungous aid provided by the laurels of communication. It affects almost every
aspect of globalization. Seeing the curriculum as a body of knowledge and a
tool for globalization - knowledge about science, history, mathematics,
geography, and so on, we tend to see teaching these skilled communication is
imparting this knowledge to youth. With proper implementation couple with good
governance, our aim for modernization can be reached. Locally, we can further
our diplomatic ties with other countries since communication won’t be a
hindrance anymore.

Communication, together with
other essential aspects in globalization working side by side, can eventually
bridge the gap of global modernization and progress as a nation.

·Stick
to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up the same time each day. As creatures
of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to altered sleep patterns. Sleeping
later n weekends won’t fully make up for the lack of sleep during the week and
will make it harder to wake up early on Monday morning.

·Exercise
is great but not too late in the day. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes on
most days but not later than 5 or 6 hours before your bedtime.

·Avoid
caffeine and nicotine. Coffee, colas, certain teas, and chocolate contain the
stimulant caffeine, and its effects can take as long as 8 hours to wear off
fully. Therefore, a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for
you to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant, often causing smokers
to sleep only very lightly. In addition, smokers often wake up too early in the
morning because of nicotine withdrawal.

·Avoid
alcoholic drinks before bed. You may think having an alcoholic “nightcap” will
help you sleep, but alcohol robs you of deep sleep and REM sleep, keeping you
in the lighter stages of sleep. You also tend to wake up in the middle of the
night when the effects of the alcohol have worn off.

·Avoid
large meals and beverages late at night. A light snack is okay, but a large
meal can cause indigestion that interferes with sleep. Drinking too many fluids
at night can cause frequent awakenings to urinate.

·If
possible, avoid medicines that delay or disrupt your sleep. Some commonly
prescribed heart, blood pressure, or asthma medications, as well as some
over-the-counter and herbal remedies for coughs, colds, or allergies, can
disrupt sleep patterns. If you have trouble sleeping, talk to your doctor or
pharmacist to see if any drugs you’re taking might be contributing to your
insomnia.

·Don’t
take naps after 3 p.m. Naps can help make up for lost sleep, but late afternoon
naps can make it harder to fall asleep at night.

·Relax
before bed. Don’t overschedule your day so that no time is left for unwinding.
A relaxing activity, such as reading or listening to music, should be part of
your bedtime ritual.

·Take
a hot bath before bed. The drop in body temperature after getting out of the
bath may help you feel sleepy, and the bath can help you relax and slow down so
you’re more ready to sleep.

·Have
a good sleeping environment. Get rid of anything that might distract you from
sleep, such as noises, bright lights, an uncomfortable bed, or warm
temperatures. You sleep better if the temperature in your bedroom is kept on
the cool side. A TV or computer in the bedroom can be a distraction and deprive
you of needed sleep. Having a comfortable mattress and pillow can help promote
a good night’s sleep.

·Have
the right sunlight exposure. Daylight is key to regulating daily sleep
patterns. Try to get outside in natural sunlight for at least 30 minutes each
day. If possible, wake up with the sun or use very bright lights in the
morning. Sleep experts recommend that, if you have problems falling asleep, you
should get an hour of exposure to morning sunlight.

·Don’t
lie in bed awake. If you find yourself still awake after staying in bed for
more than 20 minutes, get up and do some relaxing activity until you feel
sleepy. The anxiety of not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall
asleep.

·See
a doctor if you continue to have trouble sleeping. If you consistently find
yourself feeling tired or not well rested during the day despite spending
enough time in bed at night, you may have a sleep disorder. Your family doctor
or a sleep specialist should be able to help you.

Myth 1: Sleep is a time when your
body and brain shut down for rest and relaxation.

No
evidence shows that any major organ (including the brain) or regulatory system
in the body shuts down during sleep. Some physiological processes actually
become more active while you sleep. For example, secretion of certain hormones
is boosted, and activity of the pathways in the brain needed for learning and memory
is heightened.

Myth 2: Getting just 1 hour less
sleep per night than needed will not have any effect on your daytime
functioning.

This
lack of sleep may not make you noticeably sleepy during the day. But even
slightly less sleep can affect your ability to think properly and respond
quickly, and it can compromise your cardiovascular health and energy balance as
well as the ability to fight infections, particularly if lack of sleep
continues. If you consistently do not get enough sleep, eventually a sleep debt
builds up that will make you excessively tired during the day.

Myth 3: Your body adjusts quickly to
different sleep schedules.

Your
biological clock makes you most alert during the daytime and most drowsy at
night. Thus, even if you work the night shift, you will naturally feel sleepy
when nighttime comes. Most people can reset their biological clock, but only by
appropriately timed cues—and even then, by 1–2 hours per day at best.

Consequently,
it can take more than a week to adjust to a dramatically altered sleep/wake
cycle, such as you encounter when traveling across several time zones or
switching from working the day shift to the night shift.

Myth 4: People need less sleep as
they get older.

Older
people don’t need less sleep, but they often get less sleep or find their sleep
less refreshing. That’s because as people age, they spend less time in the
deep, restful stages of sleep and are more easily awakened. Older people are
also more likely to have insomnia or other medical conditions that disrupt
their sleep.

Myth
5: Extra sleep at night can cure you of problems with excessive daytime
fatigue.

Not
only is the quantity of sleep important but also the quality of sleep. Some
people sleep 8 or 9 hours a night but don’t feel well rested when they wake up
because the quality of their sleep is poor. A number of sleep disorders and
other medical conditions affect the quality of sleep. Sleeping more won’t alleviate
the daytime sleepiness these disorders or conditions cause. However, many of
these disorders or conditions can be treated effectively with changes in
behavior or with medical therapies.

Myth 6: You can make up for lost
sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends.

Although
this sleeping pattern will help relieve part of a sleep debt, it will not
completely make up for the lack of sleep. This pattern also will not make up
for impaired performance during the week because of not sleeping enough.
Furthermore, sleeping later on the weekends can affect your biological clock so
that

it
is much harder to go to sleep at the right time on Sunday nights and get up
early on Monday mornings.

Myth 7: Naps are a waste of time.

Although
naps do not substitute for a good night’s sleep, they can be restorative and
help counter some of the impaired performance that results from not getting
enough sleep at night.

Naps
can actually help you learn how to do certain tasks quicker. But avoid taking
naps later than 3 p.m., as late naps can interfere with your ability to fall
asleep at night. Also, limit your naps to no longer than 1 hour because longer
naps will make it harder to wake up and get back in the swing of things. If you
take frequent naps during the day, you may have a sleep disorder that should be
treated.

Myth 8: Snoring is a normal part of
sleep.

Snoring
during sleep is common, particularly as a person gets older. Evidence is
growing that snoring on a regular basis can make you sleepy during the day and
more susceptible to diabetes and heart disease. In addition, some studies link
frequent snoring to problem behavior and poorer school achievement in children.
Loud, frequent snoring can also be a sign of sleep apnea, a serious sleep
disorder that should be treated.

Myth 9: Children who don’t get
enough sleep at night will show signs of sleepiness during the day.

Unlike
adults, children who don’t get enough sleep at night typically become more
active than normal during the day. They also show difficulty paying attention
and behaving properly. Consequently, they may be misdiagnosed as having
attention deficit hyperactivity.

Myth 10: The main cause of insomnia
is worry.

Although
worry or stress can cause a short bout of insomnia, a persistent inability to
fall asleep or stay asleep at night can be caused by a number of other factors.
Certain medications and sleep disorders can keep you up at night. Other common causes
of insomnia are depression, anxiety disorders, and asthma, arthritis, or other
medical conditions with symptoms that become more troublesome at night. Some
people who have chronic insomnia also appear to be more revved up than normal,
so it is harder for them to fall asleep.

When
you were young, your mother may have told you that you need to get enough sleep
to grow strong and tall. She may have been right! Deep sleep triggers more
release of growth hormone, which fuels growth in children and boosts muscle
mass and the repair of cells and tissues in children and adults. Sleep’s effect
on the release of sex hormones also encourages puberty and fertility.

Consequently,
women who work at night and tend to lack sleep are, therefore, more likely to
have trouble conceiving or to miscarry. Your mother also probably was right if
she told you that getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis would help
keep you from getting sick and help you get better if you do get sick. During
sleep, your body creates more cytokines—cellular hormones that help the immune
system fight various infections. Lack of sleep can reduce the ability to fight
off common infections. Research also reveals that a lack of sleep can reduce
the body’s response to the flu vaccine.

For
example, sleep-deprived volunteers given the flu vaccine produced less than
half as many flu antibodies as those who were well rested and given the same
vaccine. Although lack of exercise and other factors are important contributors,
the current epidemic of diabetes and obesity appears to be related, at least in
part, to chronically getting inadequate sleep.

Evidence
is growing that sleep is a powerful regulator of appetite, energy use, and
weight control. During sleep, the body’s production of the appetite suppressor
leptin increases, and the appetite stimulant grehlin decreases. Studies find
that the less people sleep, the more likely they are to be overweight or obese
and prefer eating foods that are higher in calories and carbohydrates. People
who report an average total sleep time of 5 hours a night, for example, are
much more likely to become obese compared to people who sleep 7–8 hours a
night.

A
number of hormones released during sleep also control the body’s use of energy.
A distinct rise and fall of blood sugar levels during sleep appears to be
linked to sleep stage. Not getting enough sleep overall or enough of each stage
of sleep disrupts this pattern. One study found that, when healthy young men
slept only 4 hours a night for 6 nights in a row, their insulin and blood sugar
levels mimicked those seen in people who were developing diabetes. Another study
found that women who slept less than 7 hours a night were more likely to
develop diabetes over time than those who slept between 7 and 8 hours a night.

Research
has found that autism clusters in families. The federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) has data showing the following diagnosis
rates among family members:

Identical
twins, who have the same genetic makeup, have about a 75 percent concordance
rate (meaning that both twins have autism).

Fraternal
(nonidentical) twins have a 3-percent concordance rate.

The
risk of autism in normal siblings ranges from 2 to 8 percent.

Among
families that contain diagnoses of autism, research shows a 10- to 40-percent
increase in the diagnoses of other developmental disabilities, such as language
delays and learning disabilities.

Researchers
have concluded that families that carry autism genes also carry other
conditions in members who don’t necessarily have autism. The inheritance pattern
for autism spectrum disorders is complex and suggests that mutations in a
number of different genes (at least 10) may be involved, according to some
research. That explains what Temple Grandin, an author and professor who has
autism, calls the “highly variable nature” of autism.

Craig
Newschaffer at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine estimates that 60 to 90
percent of all autism cases are genetically based. However, because of the
complex nature of autism genetics, scientists don’t have a test parents can
order to see if their children are at an increased risk of developing the disorder.

Individuals
with Asperger Syndrome range from people who may be considered a little eccentric
to people who have serious difficulties socially, educationally, and
professionally because they lack basic understanding of human interactions.
People in the latter group often have to learn by rote things that other people
consider common sense, such as how to read facial expressions, tones of voice
(like sarcasm), and verbal expressions (such as “raining cats and dogs”).

Many
people with Asperger’s have brilliant intellects yet are naïve and easily taken
advantage of by others because they interpret situations at face value and miss
social cues. Generally, “Aspies” lack common emotional responses and must learn
appropriate social skills to function within society, but they’re typically
considered high functioning and may never be diagnosed at all. No obvious
language delay comes with Asperger Syndrome; however, language tends to develop
in a unique manner. Professionals dispute whether Asperger’s should even be
considered a disorder. People affected don’t show the same delays in cognitive
development or curiosity about their environment that people with classic
autism do in childhood.

One
well-known person with Asperger Syndrome is Liane Holliday Willey — a doctor of
education, a writer, and a researcher — who realized she had the syndrome only
after her daughter received a diagnosis. In her book, Pretending to be Normal:
Living with Asperger’s Syndrome (Jessica Kingsley Publishers), Willey explains
how an undiagnosed individual often feels different from others but doesn’t
know why. The person doesn’t seek a cure, only acceptance. “No matter what the
hardships,” Willey writes, “I do not wish for a cure to Asperger Syndrome. What
I wish for is a cure for the common ill that pervades too many lives; the ill
that makes people compare themselves to a normal that is measured in terms of
perfect and absolute standards, most of which are impossible for anyone to
reach.” Co-author Stephen Shore was once considered uneducable, but he has
written poignantly about his struggles to understand social protocols that
others take for granted. Now considered to have Asperger Syndrome, Shore has
written two other books and numerous articles.

You
must understand that people with Asperger’s don’t lack feelings; their brains
just function in such a way that they have trouble accessing and expressing
feelings to others in a traditional manner.

Sometimes
referred to as Kanner’s Syndrome, severe autism is the classic type of autism
that books and films often portray to great dramatic effect. You may also hear
it called infantile autism, childhood autism, or simply autism disorder.

Individuals
with the classic type of autism may have more, and are more heavily affected
by, symptoms within the areas of communication, social development, and
activities and interests or they may have only a few obvious ones. Some of the
symptoms can be so debilitating — like a lack of functional communication — and
the sensory issues so severe that the afflicted can barely stand to remain in
their own skin. Other symptoms may be mild; a person may have good verbal
communication skills but is unable to understand pragmatics, or the meaning
“between the words”.

People
who are less-severely impaired by their autism are said to have high functioning
autism (HFA) or Asperger Syndrome (see the section “Asperger Syndrome” for more
on, well, Asperger Syndrome). Language develops late or not at all in people
with Kanner’s Syndrome, which is the main distinction between classic autism
and Asperger’s, as of this writing. Dr. Temple Grandin, a professor of animal
science at Colorado State University who lectures and writes frequently on
autism, and Kathy Grant, a political science graduate and autism advocate who
has chronicled her sensory sensitivities, are some famous examples of
high-functioning people with classic autism.

Professionals
diagnose autism based upon symptoms shown in the categories of social
interaction, communication, and behavior. Early diagnosis and intervention —
before the age of 3 — are very important, because research shows that many
features of autism respond better when you deal with them early. Sadly, some
children don’t receive an official diagnosis until years after their parents
first suspect that something is wrong, which means they lose valuable time.
Even some doctors don’t have the necessary facts to provide an accurate
diagnosis. You know your child better than any doctor, so if you disagree with
a doctor’s assessment, you should get a second opinion. Trust your instincts if
you think your child isn’t developing normally.

Behavior
(activities and interests)

Autistic
children often have obsessions or preoccupations with objects or with fantasy
worlds (they may have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality) that go
beyond the normal interests of a developing child. For example, a child may play
exclusively with string or believe she’s an animal. She may have trouble transitioning
from one activity to the next and insist on sticking to a ritual or routine —
even one that seems to have no meaning. Repeated mannerisms such as hand
flapping, rocking, or walking on one’s toes may become habits.

Doctors
are certain that autism affects the way the brain functions (and autopsies of
autistic brains show abnormalities in different areas), causing a sometimes
distinctive set of behavioral symptoms. Each behavioral symptom can range from
mild to severe. To complicate things further, not all children diagnosed as
autistic display all the behavioral symptoms. The behavioural symptoms govern
the diagnosis, making treatment problematic.

Social
development

People
with autism — partly because of the problems they have with communication —
have difficulty developing friendships and playing cooperatively with others.
Often, kids with autism don’t imitate others’ behaviors, as children usually
do, and they don’t share their thoughts and observations. They also don’t
spontaneously try to connect with others, as other children will.

Despite
the challenges children with autism face regarding social interaction, they
still have the desire to interact. Children with autism may just need direct
instruction to learn what others pick up by mere observation. Even mildly
autistic children who have normal language development find it difficult to
form peer relationships because of their problems in understanding social
protocols and others’ motivations. This social awkwardness can happen even if a
child’s IQ is off the charts. Children on this end of the autism spectrum display
little understanding of appropriate behaviors, and they may be criticized for
being “brutally honest,” but many people note that they commonly lack
pretension, dishonesty, flattery, and guile. However, they can also be quite
hurt by their inability to connect socially, although they may not be able to
express these emotions. Most people on this part of the spectrum lack the
emotional vocabulary.

Communication

Autistic
individuals have trouble with language development, sometimes losing speech at
18-24 months (known as regressive autism), talking only late in development, or
not talking at all. Children may repeat words and phrases like television
commercials (a condition known as echolalia), having no apparent understanding
of their meaning. The children may hear words but not be able to make sense of
what they mean.

Non-verbal
communication is also impaired in children with autism. Commonly, autistic
individuals may not understand what gestures mean. They won’t point to objects.
They may not make eye contact or smile when smiled at. Their responses or lack
of responses can be isolating, resulting in communication barriers rising
between them and other people.

Coexisting
issues

Other
conditions often coexist with autism, further complicating the diagnostic and
treatment picture. Some of the more common coexisting conditions include the
following:

·Mental
retardation

·Hyperlexia

·Obsessive
compulsive disorder (OCD)

·Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)

·Dyslexia

Conditions are considered comorbid if they occur at the same time as the autistic symptoms and are deemed to have roughly equal “weight” by the diagnostician. Other associative conditions such as depression are often secondary to the autism — in other words, a person’s difficulties in interacting with the environment and connecting with others result in a depressive disorder.

December 27, 2012

Sticking
to a time-scheduling system can’t guarantee the return of your longlost vacation
days, but by regularly tracking your meetings, appointments, and obligations,
you reduce your odds of double-booking and scheduling appointments too close.
And by planning ahead, you make sure to make time for all the important things
first.

The
system ensures that you put your priorities first (starting with routines and
then moving to individual tasks/activities) before scheduling in commitments and
activities of lesser importance. Such time-management techniques are just as
applicable to the other spheres of your life. There’s a reason why I advise you
to plug in your personal commitments first when filling in your time-blocking
schedule: Your personal time is worthy of protection, and you can further
enhance that time by applying time-management principles.

Now,
here’s some explanation of what may be happening to you, depending on your
answers to Questions 1 through 10. Keep in mind, though, that only your doctor
can actually diagnose you with fibromyalgia.

Question
1: If you’re experiencing pain in specific parts of your body, but you’re not
seeing bruises or any apparent evidence of tissue damage (and neither is your
doctor), these painful areas may be the muscle pains characteristic of
fibromyalgia.

Question
2: If you said that your pain is sometimes very severe, this is another
indicator that you may have fibromyalgia. Be sure to consult a physician to
find out.

Question
3: If you have trouble sleeping three or more nights per week, this is serious.
The problem may or may not be connected with fibromyalgia (although nearly
everyone with FMS has sleep problems), but it’s important to resolve your
serious sleep deficit. If you’re a walking zombie because you’re not getting
enough sleep, you can’t perform well at work or home, nor will you be a happy
person. Also, if you’re prone to developing fibromyalgia, this continuing bad
pattern of a lack of sleep every night will make your other symptoms, such as
your pain and fatigue, much worse.

Question
4: Severe fatigue is a chronic problem among nearly everyone who has fibromyalgia.
Often, it’s linked to a lack of sleep. But it may also be an element of FMS as
a medical problem. You may also have chronic fatigue syndrome or thyroid
disease, and your doctor will need to help you sort it out.

Question
5: If you agreed that those you care about, or maybe even strangers around you,
are commenting that you look sick, something about you probably doesn’t look
right. You may be displaying your chronic pain and associated depression on
your face without even knowing it.

On
the other hand, other people tell individuals with fibromyalgia that they look
“fine” and “great,” and the pain and symptoms are not reflected in the face or
body language of the fibro sufferer. If this has happened to you, you’re
definitely not alone.

Question
6: If you’re turning down invitations that you would have accepted in the past,
have a serious talk with yourself to find out why. Is it because of pain and
fatigue? Or could you be having a problem with depression or anxiety — both
very common problems for people with and without fibromyalgia?

Question
7: When your pain is constant and chronic, asking yourself if it’s ever going
to end is only natural. But what you need to do is consult with a physician.
You may have fibromyalgia, or you may have another problem altogether. Don’t
wait for the pain to magically disappear. Take action.

Question
8: If you constantly lose things or forget things, you may have the “fibro fog”
that often stems from fibromyalgia. You may also have attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Another possibility is that you may have neither
of these but you’re simply trying to do too many things at once, and you need
to take some things off your plate.

How
do you know which it is? You make a stab at analyzing what you’re forgetting
and when. If you can’t even begin to do that, and you’re also experiencing
chronic pain, fatigue, and sleep problems, you may have fibromyalgia. But see
your doctor to find out for sure.

Question
9: If your pain is severe on some days and then far less of a problem on other
days, and you think there doesn’t seem to be any pattern to it at all, you may
be experiencing the chronic ups and downs of fibromyalgia. Pain that can appear
in one part of your body one day and migrate elsewhere on another day is a
common symptom of FMS, as are days when you feel really bad and other days when
you feel only mildly bad.

Question
10: If you don’t seem to enjoy anything anymore and maybe are sort of
overwhelmed by your many aches and pains, you may have depression. Many people
with fibromyalgia have both depression and FMS. You could also have a problem
with an anxiety disorder, such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), where you
are overwhelmed with extreme worry.

Several
neurological conditions may appear to be idiopathic (without known cause) PD at
first, but they eventually trace back to known causes, progress differently,
and respond differently to therapy. These other conditions include the
following:

Essential
tremor (ET) is
perhaps the most common type of tremor, affecting as many as five million
Americans. ET differs from the tremor in idiopathic PD in several ways: ET
occurs when the hand is active (as in eating, grasping, writing, and such). It
may also occur in the face, voice, and arms. The renowned actress, Katherine
Hepburn, had ET, not PD. Differentiating ET from PD is very important because
each condition responds to completely different sets of medications.

Parkinson-plus
syndromes may
initially have the same symptoms as PD. But these syndromes also cause early
and severe problems with balance, blood pressure, vision, and cognition and
usually have a much faster progression compared to PD.

Secondary
parkinsonism can
result from head trauma or from damage to the brain due to multiple small
strokes (atherosclerotic or vascular parkinsonism). Both forms can be ruled out
through scans (CTs or MRIs) that produce images of the brain.

Pseudoparkinsonism can appear to be PD when in fact
the person has another condition (such as depression) that can mimic the
inexpressive face of PWP.

Drug
- or toxin-induced parkinsonism
can occur from taking antipsychotic medications (drug-induced) or from exposure
to toxins such as carbon monoxide and manganese dust (toxin-induced).
Drug-induced symptoms are usually (but not always) reversible; toxin-induced
symptoms usually aren’t.

The
subtleties of diagnosing idiopathic PD may lead your family doctor to send you
to a neurologist, a specialist in the treatment of neurological conditions. If
that happens, don’t panic. Getting the correct diagnosis is the first step
toward figuring out what comes next for you.

Just
about anyone of any age can develop fibromyalgia, but most research so far
indicates that the majority of people with FMS (Fibromyalgia Syndrome) are of
the female persuasion, partly because women are more sensitive to pain than
men. This is a time where a little equal opportunity of pain would be
preferable (if you’re a woman). But who gets fibromyalgia isn’t about fairness.

Although
women are the primary sufferers of fibromyalgia, many men have been diagnosed
with FMS, too, and some men with fibromyalgia go undiagnosed for years. For
more information about some of the major patterns that have been identified so
far among people who develop fibromyalgia, which you may share with these
fellow sufferers.

What
about children and adolescents? Do they have fibromyalgia? Sadly, yes. If your child
or teenager has FMS, he may have a difficult time because most physicians, as
well as the general public, still don’t realize that kids can experience chronic
pain from FMS. Instead, they think kids are faking it when they say that
they’re too sick to go to school. Maybe they are, but then again, maybe they’re
not.

Statistics
related to osteoporosis are staggering. Consider just a few from the 2004
Surgeon General’s report:

·Around
1.5 million people have a fracture related to osteoporosis each year.

·Hip
fractures are responsible for 300,000 hospitalizations each year.

·Up
to 700,000 vertebral compression fractures and 250,000 wrist fractures occur in
the United States each year.

·The
cost for treating osteoporotic fractures each year is around $18 billion — $38
million a day.

·Approximately
20 percent of seniors who suffer a hip fracture will die within one year.

·Around
20 percent of seniors with a hip fracture will be in a nursing home within a
year.

·White
women older than age 65 are twice as likely to fracture something as African
American women. Latino women’s fracture rates fall between the two groups. A
woman’s risk of hip fracture is equal to her risk of developing breast,
uterine, and ovarian cancer combined.

·By
the year 2050, men will have one half of all hip fractures in the United
States.

What
exactly is osteoporosis? The standard World Health organization (WHO)
definition is that osteoporosis is “a skeletal disorder characterized by
compromised bone strength predisposing a person to an increased risk of
fracture,” which is certainly a mouthful, if not a particularly enlightening
one. Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease by far, but it’s a disease
many people don’t understand.

Most
people think of osteoporosis only in terms of bone fractures or loss of height,
but osteoporosis is far more complicated. You’d probably understand
osteoporosis most clearly if you could see a bone specimen affected by
osteoporosis under the microscope, but you’re not likely to ever be privy to a
bone biopsy. Doctors don’t usually perform bone biopsies in their patients to
diagnosis osteoporosis, although pathological examination of bone is still the gold
standard in diagnosing osteoporosis. Normal bone has a network of strong plates
and bands. In osteoporosis the bands become thinner and weakened, and worse yet
there are tiny breaks in the plates and bands.

Another
way to define osteoporosis is that osteoporosis is present if bone mineral
testing value is more than 2.5 standard deviations below the average adult,
even if there’s no history of fractures. The word “osteoporosis” actually means
porous bones. If something is porous, it has holes in it. Although all bone has
cavities filled with cells and blood, in osteoporosis, the normal bony cavities
enlarge. When the “holes” become larger, bone becomes more fragile and more
susceptible to breaking. Minimal trauma can cause a fracture when you have
osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis
is a systemic disorder that affects the entire skeleton. Bone is in a constant
state of remodeling; old bone is broken down and replaced with new bone.
Osteoporosis can occur when you lose more bone than you rebuild, or when more
bone than normal is broken down.

Bone
mass decreases between 1 and 5 percent per year after age 40 in women, and less
than 1 percent in men. Women are more likely to develop osteoporosis because
they generally have less bone mass to start with than men do. The sudden loss
of estrogen, a sex hormone that is instrumental in building healthy bone, in
menopause also contributes to women’s increased risk of osteoporosis.

December 26, 2012

Parkinson’s
disease is a disease in a group of conditions called movement disorders —
disorders that result from a loss of the brain’s control on voluntary movements.
Dopamine (a neurotransmitter in the brain) relays signals from the substantia
nigra to those brain regions (putamen, caudate, and globus pallidus —
collectively named the basal ganglia — in the striatum) that control movement,
balance, and coordination. In the brain of people with Parkinson’s (PWP), cells
that produce this essential substance die earlier than normal.

Although
a whole group of conditions are known as parkinsonism, the one that most people
know is called idiopathic PD, a Greek word that means arising spontaneously
from an unknown cause. As the term suggests, the jury is still out as to the
underlying cause (though theories do exist).

Go
into a room filled with 50 people with Parkinson’s (PWP) and ask how they first
suspected they had PD. You’re likely to hear 50 different stories. Take ten of
those people who were diagnosed at approximately the same time and you’re
likely to see varying signs of PD progression — from almost no progression to
more rapid onset of symptoms. Similarly, you’re likely to experience a variety
of attitudes and outlooks from the individuals dealing with their PD.

When
you’re diagnosed with PD, you set out on a unique journey — one where your
outlook, lifestyle changes, and medical treatment can be key directional maneuvers
along the way. In truth, this disease is one that you can live with, surrender
to, or fight with everything you’ve got. The road veers and curves differently
for each person. Some people may choose one path for managing symptoms, and
some people choose another. Sometimes the disease itself sets the course. The
bottom line? No clear roadmaps are available. But one fact is certain:
Understanding the chronic and progressive nature of PD can take you a long way
toward effectively managing your symptoms and living a full life.

Nobody
has an eating disorder for the fun of it. If you’ve developed an eating disorder,
it’s because something hasn’t been working in your life. You’ve turned to your
eating disorder because it seems to help; never mind the terrible price you’re
paying for it.

Sadly,
your eating disorder is a vote of no-confidence in your personal ability to
solve problems, manage feelings, or create a life to be proud of. Depending on
your disorder, you’ve discovered that weight loss brings admiration, dieting gives
you a sense of control, bingeing provides temporary comfort, or purging offers
a sense of release and relief. Each makes the eating disorder seem like a
powerful and readily available ally.

The
tricky thing about eating disorder symptoms is that the more they appear to
solve for you, the more you ask them to solve — and the more you believe in
them as problem-solvers. When a symptom seems to fix so much, it can achieve a
very “dug-in” place in your life.